Wednesday, December 31, 2014

People aren’t always the most truthful in interviews. When you really want to land the job, it can be easy to exaggerate, or stretch the truth a little bit. You’re in the hot seat and the pressure is on – you’re willing to do whatever it takes to beat out the other job candidates.It’s natural, but it’s definitely not the best strategy.Yet, it still happens. The thing is, though, interviewers can see right though it. They’ve heard them all.Here are some of the more common lies that one might tell during an interview.

Monday, December 29, 2014

You want a resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile that presents you in the best possible light. With all of the emphasis on loading your documents with keywords, accomplishments, and metrics that make the case for you being the perfect fit for the position you’re after, have you overlooked proper punctuation?Some might wonder what the big deal is about punctuation. Surely if you start your sentences with a capital letter and end them with a period, that’s all you need to worry about, right? Unfortunately not.The text in career documents is often so packed with information that seemingly inconsequential punctuation missteps can distort your meaning, or worse: cause the reviewer to pause in confusion. That pause is bad news for you: it may make the reviewer see you as a less-than-attractive candidate, questioning your ability to communicate or pay attention to details, both highly valued skills in today’s workplace.Just as a modern spouse becomes more alluring to a partner by doing the dishes and laundry, using proper punctuation makes you downright sexy to a hiring manager. Both efforts make lives easier for the people who are important to you, so go the extra mile by following these important rules (and do the dishes):

1. Capitalization

In addition to appearing at the beginning of sentences and in section headings, capital letters also signify important words. But using too many “important words” in your documents slows the reader down or seems pretentious. For example, I sometimes see text like this in resumes: “Expertise in Human Resources, Training, and Recruiting” Try: “Expertise in human resources, training, recruiting” instead.Other than proper names like your own name or the names of products, you will rarely need to capitalize words that don’t appear at the beginning of a line or sentence.You’ll also want to capitalize your own job title above each position listed on your resume. However, if you reference someone else’s job title in your career documents, the general rule is that it is only capitalized when the person’s name follows (Vice President Joe Smith) – not when merely referring to the position (as in “reporting to the vice president”).Of course, every rule tends to have its exceptions, and there are a few for capitalization. However, these are good to start with.

2. Hyphens

Use hyphens for compound adjectives that precede a noun, such as “client-focused approach” or “full-time employees.” And if you have two adjectives that modify the same base word, use a hyphen after the first, as in “mid- and senior-level management.” Do not use a hyphen in a compound adjective if the first word ends in –ly, as in “highly qualified candidate.”

3. Semicolons

Semicolons can either separate two independent clauses when the second clause is not directly related to the first, or they can be useful when you want to list items that already include a comma. For example, “Proficient in software including Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint; CorelDRAW; and Adobe Photoshop.”Read 4-6 and the complete article

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

By Peggy CarouthersWouldn’t it be great if you could guarantee you’d receive more calls from recruiters after you submit your resume? Well, you can. All you have to do is think like a recruiter.Most recruiters receive tons of applications for every job opening. They look for any reason to reject an applicant for not being a good fit. Most of the early rounds of elimination have to do with the qualifications of the job. But the further your application gets, the more all applications look alike. Recruiters have to turn down qualified applicants in favor of those who stand out from the rest.

The applications that stand out are the ones that answer these three questions all recruiters ask.

1. Why do you want this job?

Recruiters want to know what’s in it for you. Why you want a job tells a recruiter about your long-term goals and what you hope to gain with your employment. Are you looking for a job out of desperation? Or do you have a personal interest in this particular position and company?Recruiters look for candidates who actually want to work for their company. They want to find an employee who will be excited and passionate both about the work and about long-term career opportunities.Make sure your cover letter and application give a solid reason for why you want this job. Is it because you have a great personal connection to the business? Maybe you love the company’s reputation. Maybe you know this job would be a great starting point for career development.

No matter what your reason, be genuine and make it clear to the recruiter you’re applying not just to pay the bills, but because you really want this job. You’ll automatically stand out from the others in the pile.Questions 2,3, and the complete article

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

We’ve all got “that guy” in our lives. The guy who seems to achieve everything he sets out to, win far more often than he loses, and land multiple job offers—approximately 14 seconds after he divulges to you that he “might be looking soon.”You want to hate him (seriously, you do), but you truly can’t. Why not?Because he’s likable, inspiring and, well, the truth of the matter is—you would totally hire him, too.So what the heck is his secret? How is he managing to find this quick success, with so many interesting players? While he may not ’fess up, I’m guessing these are some of the very strategies he’s employing:

1. He Nails Down the Target Job and Audience Before Searching

Unlike many job seekers, that guy isn’t plopping in front of the computer for two seconds of aimless searching until he’s done a little bit of soul searching. What kind of job does he want? Where does he have the most career capital? What is the personality, size, management style, and industry focus of the company that seems most appealing to him? What about the commute, the salary, the perks, the people?Job seekers who first construct a vision of what that next job does (and, in many cases, doesn’t) look like are the ones who are best equipped to craft a game plan (and a resume) that points them square at the type of job that best aligns with their capabilities and, importantly, their desires.

2. He Figures Out the Key Players, Then Gets on Their Radar

Once that guy hones in on a target job, guess what he does next? He makes a list of the people he should probably know—influential players at companies of interest, thought leaders, local business owners who work in this space, reporters who cover his field, association leaders in his town. You get the idea.

The most successful job seekers are not (repeat: are not) spending all of their search time mucking around on Craigslist; they’re figuring out who they need to know and figuring out ways to get on their radar. Secrets 3-5 and the complete "The Muse" article

Monday, December 1, 2014

As your job search consultant, I aim to provide you 19 creative ways to build your target company list, so you can find your own job leads. This way, you are taught how to fish and you are not be dependent on third party recruiters and job boards. Here, I expand on the target company list building examples I provided in my previous LinkedIn article (“How to Build A List of Target Companies” – Spring 2012), and outline additional, proven steps that you can use immediately. These tactics have been used to build target company lists for current job search practice clients and when I built a recruitment practice in my earlier career. Check out this list:

(1) Create a Wish List of target companies where you have always wanted to work.

If you are going to conduct a job search, you might as well think BIG, right, and aim to work where you want to work? Think about what characteristics and accolades those target companies have that inspire you to want to work for them. When writing down those traits, use those ideas to spring board your thinking to come up with other target companies that seem to embody those same traits and philosophies.

(2) Apply The CAVACtm Model to build your Target Company List.

What is the CAVAC™ Model? The CAVAC™ Model is a methodical, hub-and-spoke thought process that helps the job seeker create a stream of new ideas pertaining to potential companies where they may find their next position. The C’s are the company’s clients and competitors. The V is vendors. And the A’s are associations and affiliate companies that compliment the target company’s business.For each company on your initial Wish List, place the employer or target company name in the middle of the diagram below. Then write out the clients, associations, affiliates, competitors and clients that come to mind and from your research to expand your list. Each company listed can be a possible entry on your developed target list. I will use one of my previous employers as an example, as if I was looking for a new position.

THE CAVAC™ MODEL

(3) Expand your list.

Now for each company in the CAVAC™ sections, take a blank CAVAC template and one of the companies from the outer circles into the center. For instance, put Bullhorn, the Applicant Tracking System Vendor, into the center as a Target Company, and research, who are the competitors, associations, vendors, affiliates and clients of this organization. This exercise can go on and on, ensuring you are never short on Target Companies.Ways 4-19 and the complete article